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Rivian’s RJ Scaringe talks on-site farming plans for employees, battery storage solutions
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe recently shared insights about the company’s psychology in a livestreamed conversation with professional rock climber Alex Honnold and Rich Roll, a long-time wellness advocate and endurance athlete. As Rivian develops the manufacturing capabilities necessary to build its all-electric R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV at market scale, serious consideration is going into how to harness their team’s energy into an industrial system that works for everyone involved.
“So, industrial systems you have very often are very much class-based system – the white collar workforce, the blue collar workforce – there’s a whole host of things that lead those two sides to often having friction. We see how unions have come in to sort of help try to make those two work a little bit better together. But, a big part of what we’re doing right now is actually mapping out and thinking about the psychology of our company and the psychology of this facility,” Scaringe detailed during the event.
One of the unique things Rivian has inherited during its growth into a full-fledged auto manufacturer is the work force from the 2.6 million square foot plant the company purchased from Mitsubishi. Scaringe described the human story of the facility as “remarkable”, citing how many of the people currently there were part of the original launch team that later had to shut the facility down.
“So, 1989-1990, there are people that are 21-22 years old, they launched the facility….25-30 years go by, they’re part of the team running it, building it, now have to shut this facility down,” Scaringe described. “When we bought the facility, we not only just got the hardware, the acreages of land…[Now] we’ve got a team of people that’s passionate about restarting the facility.”
The company hopes the motivation to restart the plant under a Rivian badge will carry over into a win-win for all involved.
“It’s really remarkable. I mean, I think we’ve got a gift to work with in terms of that level of energy and that passion to bring it back to life,” the CEO said. “As we think about how do we take this gift that we’ve been given in terms of a workforce that’s so motivated, and how do we challenge a lot of the conventions that have been built up in terms of industrial systems…we’re doing a lot of things in the facility to really take that energy and supercharge it, really harvest it.”
One of the ideas Rivian is working to benefit on-site employees utilizes the resources inherited from the plant itself. The acreage surrounding the actual facility isn’t entirely needed for production purposes, so the car maker is planning to partner with local universities for food production from ground to plate.
“We have 508 acres at the plant, a very small percent of which actually has the plant occupying it – most of it’s just grass. We’re gonna be turning a lot of that into an area to grow food. And we’re gonna run that in partnership with some of the local universities through their agriculture programs to grow food locally on our site…and then that food’s gonna be served in our facility with students that are learning from top chefs we’re bringing in to run the food services in our facility, and we’re gonna provide incredible food to our plant team regardless of what part of the plant you work in,” Scaringe revealed.
“[That way]…there’s true equity. Every employee is part of this mission of bringing this facility back up. And that positive energy that we’re establishing at the plant, we want it to be a benchmark for how industrial systems are run – the collaboration, the communication between groups, between our other facilities.”
The conversation with Rich Roll and Alex Honnold primarily involved another part of the company’s psychology – helping to accelerate widespread adoption of renewable energy. Rivian has partnered with the Honnold Foundation to use the electric truck maker’s “second-life” auto batteries for a micro-grid solar system in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. Through this project and others in the future, older battery cells that are no longer efficient for electric vehicles are repurposed into stationary energy storage units.
Adjuntas was selected as their first project site due to the town’s need for energy assistance after struggling in the wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017. The Honnold Foundation and Rivian will be using 135 kWh battery packs from R1T and R1S development vehicles for that particular grid project; however, cells going into Rivian’s production vehicles have been purposefully designed to have a “second life” in energy storage. The move towards energy projects marks a huge step for Rivian, signaling its expansion beyond the manufacture of all-electric luxury adventure vehicles.
Rivian’s first vehicle deliveries to customers are still planned for the end of 2020. Scaringe said during the event that around 800 members of their preorder community, i.e., reservation holders, were in attendance at the event with Roll and Honnold, so a further manufacturing update was provided with that in mind.
“There’s a lot of stuff happening [at the plant]. We’re moving equipment, we’re putting new equipment in. We’ve got amazingly talented people working day and night to bring that facility up and start delivering cars as quickly as possible,” he promised.
Watch RJ Scaringe, Alex Honnold, and Rich Roll discuss the Honnold Foundation and Rivian’s facility details in the video below:
Elon Musk has firmly denied recent media reports suggesting that SpaceX has reduced its target valuation for an upcoming initial public offering.
The denial came directly from the SpaceX and Tesla frontman on his social media platform X, where he responded with a single word, “False,” to a post from ZeroHedge that cited Bloomberg sources.
This swift rebuttal underscores Musk’s ongoing effort to manage speculation surrounding one of the most anticipated market debuts in recent history.
False
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2026
According to the disputed reports, SpaceX had lowered its IPO valuation goal to at least $1.8 trillion from previous ambitions exceeding $2 trillion.
The claims emerged amid growing anticipation for the company’s confidential S-1 filing, which positions it for a potential public listing as early as June.
Some had pointed to strong revenue growth, particularly from the Starlink satellite internet service, which contributed heavily to the firm’s 2025 figures of $18.7 billion. Yet challenges persist in other areas, including substantial investments and losses tied to ambitious projects like Starship development and artificial intelligence initiatives, which plan to make life multiplanetary eventually.
Musk’s response highlights a pattern in which he actively counters what he views as inaccurate portrayals of his companies’ trajectories.
SpaceX, already valued privately at extraordinary levels, stands as a cornerstone of Musk’s empire alongside Tesla and xAI. The entrepreneur has long emphasized the transformative potential of reusable rockets and global broadband access, factors that fuel investor enthusiasm despite operational hurdles.
By rejecting the valuation downgrade narrative, Musk signals confidence in SpaceX’s fundamentals and its readiness for public markets on terms favorable to its long-term vision. People have been waiting a very long time to invest in SpaceX, and the valuation, as well as the introductory share price, is not going to need adjusting.
They’ll have plenty of suitors.
This episode reflects broader dynamics in the technology sector, where rumors often swirl around high-profile entities. Musk’s direct engagement with media narratives serves to maintain transparency and control the narrative around his ventures.
As SpaceX prepares for greater scrutiny in public markets, the founder’s denial reinforces optimism about its prospects. Supporters argue that the company’s innovative edge positions it for enduring success, far beyond short-term valuation debates. With the denial now public, attention turns to forthcoming regulatory filings that could provide clearer insights into SpaceX’s strategy and financial health.
The coming weeks promise to reveal more about how SpaceX will transition into a publicly traded powerhouse.
Tesla’s dreams of operating a fully autonomous ride-hailing platform just took a massive step toward reality, as two separate events have indicated the company is perhaps closer than ever to achieving self-driving as a product.
On Thursday, Tesla was granted authorization by the State of Texas to operate driverless vehicles in a commercial manner. On May 28, Senate Bill 2807, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature, took effect after being passed back on September 1, 2025.
The bill establishes a statewide regulatory framework requiring authorization from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles for companies to operate automated vehicles commercially on Texas roads.
This covers driverless, or SAE Level 4+, operations for passenger transport, meaning Robotaxi, or freight.
Tesla and other companies can self-certify their vehicles and tech as long as they:
- Operate in compliance with Texas traffic laws
- Maintain proper registration, title, and insurance
- Use compliant automated driving systems
- Record onboard activity and handle system failures and glitches safely.
The new authorization, which was first reported by James Stephenson on X, allows companies to utilize their own processes to determine if their vehicles are ready to operate without drivers.
🚨BREAKING:
Tesla has been authorized by the State of Texas to operate driverless vehicles commercially under the new law that took effect today, May 28th, 2026. Tesla has officially self-certified the software running on its robotaxis as Level 4. $TSLA pic.twitter.com/KSJdsvlaW5— James Stephenson (@ICannot_Enough) May 28, 2026
It is a rule that expedites the entire approval process, keeping agencies out of a usually long, lengthy, and frustrating task that is essential to technological advancements. It essentially means Tesla can launch commercial Robotaxi operations at this point.
On the very same day, Tesla continued the momentum as CEO Elon Musk shared a video of Cybercab units autonomously driving off the property at Gigafactory Texas. This is a major step in the story of the Cybercab.
Mass production of the Cybercab started at Giga Texas in April, and it is already heading out of the factory on its own.
Cybercab driving itself out of the GigaTexas factory pic.twitter.com/EwAMVVDjYy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 28, 2026
These two major events mark a drastic step forward in Tesla’s progress toward Cybercab and the permissions it needs to operate a self-driving ride-hailing service. Tesla is now able to operate autonomously under Texas law by self-certifying, and with the potentially imminent rollout of Cybercab, Tesla’s autonomous dreams are starting to take serious shape.
Elon Musk
The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building
Tesla and SpaceX may be closer to merging than Wall Street or either company is admitting.
Elon Musk has reportedly discussed merging Tesla and SpaceX with people close to him, according to CNBC, which cited sources familiar with the conversation. Tesla employees have long expected such a transaction and the topic is openly discussed internally, according to internal sources. With SpaceX is days away from kicking off its Wall Street roadshow for what could be the largest IPO in market history, this would be the first time the company will have public market currency to execute a stock-for-stock deal with Tesla.
The financial logic for a merger would make sense. A combined SpaceX and Tesla would create a conglomerate spanning rockets, satellites, electric vehicles, AI infrastructure, and energy storage valued at roughly $3.35 trillion to $3.6 trillion based on SpaceX’s IPO target range and Tesla’s current market capitalization. The two companies are already more intertwined than most people realize. SpaceX bought $697 million worth of Tesla Megapack systems for xAI data centers and $131 million worth of Cybertrucks. Tesla invested $2 billion in xAI, which subsequently merged with SpaceX. Past transactions also include Tesla selling solar equipment and parts to SpaceX, and SpaceX helping with Cybertruck materials.
Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI
Musk himself signaled where this was heading in November 2025 when he posted on X, “My companies are, surprisingly in some ways, trending towards convergence.” Tesla and SpaceX announced a joint semiconductor fabrication facility in Austin called Terafab on the Gigafactory Texas campus, covering two advanced chip factories, with one serving Tesla’s AI needs for vehicles and Optimus robots, the other targeting space-based data centers under SpaceX’s infrastructure vision.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives places the probability of a merger at 80% to 90% with a target completion in the first half of 2027. The mechanics of a deal became possible the moment SpaceX filed its S-1. Legal experts said a merger likely would not spark antitrust issues but would raise concerns among shareholders in each company, with questions around which company would be the parent, how a stock swap would take place, and who determines the appropriate price. Musk holds about 20% of Tesla’s equity but controls 85.1% of SpaceX’s voting power through a super-voting share class, meaning he would largely be negotiating the terms with himself.
Not everyone is convinced the timing is imminent. Traders on Kalshi place only 33% odds that a merger will happen before May 2027. The more immediate concern for Tesla shareholders is whether the SpaceX IPO pulls capital and Musk’s attention away from Tesla before any merger consolidates the upside for both.
What is clear is that the structural groundwork is already being laid. The Terafab announcement, the xAI merger, the shared supply chain, the cross-company balance sheet transactions, and now the IPO all point in the same direction. Whether the merger follows in 2027 or later, the two companies are already operating more like divisions of a single entity than independent competitors.
Elon Musk strikes down reports on SpaceX IPO rumors
Tesla’s Robotaxi dreams just took a massive step toward reality
